Retrospective: Francesco Rosi and Italian Political Cinema
On a global scale, Italian cinema is considered as one of the most socially conscious and stylistically varied creative hubs, and the tradition of so-called cinema politico, i.e., political cinema, which has survived ever since the sixties, occupies a special place in this regard. New generations are emerging, new filmmakers are cropping up with varyingly radical views. Some things are indestructible, it seems, such as their canonized and indefatigable directors, most notably Marco Bellocchio or Nanni Moretti, whose new films espousing a firm political creed came out this year. This creates a great opportunity for a new historical overview, after the retrospective presented by Cankarjev dom (in a more limited scope) fifteen years ago.
We will screen prominent works by some of Italy's greatest directors, filmmakers who honed the craft of political and socio-critical cinema largely around 1968, focusing on Italy’s current and past realities and frontally attacking the institutions of family, church and the republic. Italian cinema, from the end of World War II identified almost entirely with the tradition of neorealism (and perceived as such in the eyes of the international public), underwent radical changes in the early sixties.
On the one hand, popular film genres were born, i.e., commedia all'italiana, Italian Western, sword-and-sandal (also known as peplum) and Gothic horror, and on the other hand, a generation of directors emerged who addressed Italian social and political issues in an unprecedentedly straightforward manner. While not sharing a generational unity (there was an age difference of almost two decades between the oldest and youngest auteur), these filmmakers were united in their universal critique of amorality, corruption, clientelism, mafia’s power over the political centres, etc. One of the leading figures of this movement (if we can call it that) was Rosi, who, over a space of three decades – roughly between Salvatore Giuliano and Christ Stopped at Eboli – fiercely took on the controversial issues mentioned above, dealing with the corrupt postwar Italy and especially the proverbial "deep state", a term we also tend to use in our political space.
The list of directors who dedicated themselves to political cinema is most impressive. Francesco Rosi, Gillo Pontecorvo, Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Elio Petri, the Taviani brothers, Damiano Damiani and later also the younger generation, most notably Gianni Amelio and Nanni Moretti, who injected a dose of humour and refreshing solipsism into the traditionally serious discourse.
Simon Popek, Film Programme Director Cankarjev dom
In cooperation with the Slovenian Cinematheque, the Italian Cultural Institute in Slovenia and Cinecitta
We will screen prominent works by some of Italy's greatest directors, filmmakers who honed the craft of political and socio-critical cinema largely around 1968, focusing on Italy’s current and past realities and frontally attacking the institutions of family, church and the republic. Italian cinema, from the end of World War II identified almost entirely with the tradition of neorealism (and perceived as such in the eyes of the international public), underwent radical changes in the early sixties.
On the one hand, popular film genres were born, i.e., commedia all'italiana, Italian Western, sword-and-sandal (also known as peplum) and Gothic horror, and on the other hand, a generation of directors emerged who addressed Italian social and political issues in an unprecedentedly straightforward manner. While not sharing a generational unity (there was an age difference of almost two decades between the oldest and youngest auteur), these filmmakers were united in their universal critique of amorality, corruption, clientelism, mafia’s power over the political centres, etc. One of the leading figures of this movement (if we can call it that) was Rosi, who, over a space of three decades – roughly between Salvatore Giuliano and Christ Stopped at Eboli – fiercely took on the controversial issues mentioned above, dealing with the corrupt postwar Italy and especially the proverbial "deep state", a term we also tend to use in our political space.
The list of directors who dedicated themselves to political cinema is most impressive. Francesco Rosi, Gillo Pontecorvo, Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Elio Petri, the Taviani brothers, Damiano Damiani and later also the younger generation, most notably Gianni Amelio and Nanni Moretti, who injected a dose of humour and refreshing solipsism into the traditionally serious discourse.
Simon Popek, Film Programme Director Cankarjev dom
In cooperation with the Slovenian Cinematheque, the Italian Cultural Institute in Slovenia and Cinecitta
